Chapter 67

On this day, Yue Fangxing was practicing alone when he was suddenly summoned by Yue Buqun. Along the way, he asked for the reason and learned that Gao Genming had returned from Chang'an, reporting that Tian Boguang had stolen from seven wealthy households in one night in Chang'an, and had written nine large characters on the walls of each household: "Used by Tian Boguang, the Lone Traveler of Ten Thousand Miles."

Chang'an, located in Guanzhong, was not far from Huashan and had always been the territory of the Huashan Sect. Tian Boguang's actions could be seen as a public challenge to the Huashan Sect. If the Huashan Sect did not respond, it would lose face. Therefore, Yue Buqun immediately gathered his disciples to discuss how to deal with Tian Boguang.

Seeing Yue Fangxing arrive, Yue Buqun said, "Xing'er, we have received news from Chang'an that Tian Boguang has committed several major crimes there. Your eldest brother is currently practicing the Purple Mist Divine Skill, so you should go and handle this!"

Upon hearing that Tian Boguang had committed theft in Chang'an, Yue Fangxing thought about the whole situation. On his way, he pondered the matter and came to a conclusion. He said, "Father, Tian Boguang has never provoked the major sects and is known as a lecher. Now he is openly committing theft in Chang'an, which seems highly suspicious. I suspect he is trying to mobilize our Huashan forces to run around, to achieve some hidden purpose."

Yue Buqun had already found the matter strange. Hearing Yue Fangxing's words, he thought it was very likely. Tian Boguang's actions were clearly provocative, and the Huashan Sect could not ignore them. If he committed crimes everywhere, mobilizing Huashan's experts to run around, and then suddenly attacked Huashan, the Huashan Sect would be in real danger. After all, apart from Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze, only Yue Fangxing could subdue Tian Boguang. Although Linghuchong had learned the Purple Mist Divine Skill, he had only practiced for two or three months and could not have made much progress. It would take him another two or three years to reach the first-class realm. Currently, Linghuchong was still far inferior to Tian Boguang and would likely lose in a confrontation.

However, ignoring Tian Boguang was also not an option. The Huashan Sect had declined due to the dispute between the Qi and Jian factions, and its prestige in Guanzhong had greatly diminished. Although it had recovered somewhat in recent years, it was far from its former glory. If Tian Boguang caused a commotion and the Huashan Sect did nothing, the little reputation it had regained would be lost.

Yue Buqun weighed the options and said, "Chang'an is a key location and cannot be neglected. Xing'er, you should ride a fast horse to Chang'an and return quickly!"

Yue Fangxing had no choice but to agree. Although the matter was small, it concerned the prestige of Huashan. If he ignored it, the wealthy households that were robbed might think the Huashan Sect had abandoned them, which would undermine the sect's standing in Guanzhong. He thought about the original story, where Linghuchong, though forcibly invited by Tian Boguang, was not in danger and even learned the Nine Swords of Dugu. The people from the Songshan Sect and the remnants of the Jian faction who later injured him were still some time away. Therefore, he needed to consider the safety of others on Huashan, to prevent Tian Boguang from acting on his lecherous impulses or using them to threaten Linghuchong.

After discussing the plan, Yue Fangxing and his father decided that if Tian Boguang committed crimes elsewhere, Yue Buqun and Yue Fangxing would go, while Ning Zhongze would stay to protect Huashan. After all, as a woman, it would not be appropriate for her to chase after a lecher like Tian Boguang. Yue Buqun and Yue Fangxing would ride fast horses to and from, to avoid giving other enemies an opportunity.

With the plan set, Yue Fangxing did not linger and immediately descended the mountain. Before leaving, he specifically instructed Lu Dayou to inform Linghuchong to be cautious.

Chang'an was only about two hundred miles from Huashan. Yue Fangxing rode a fast horse and traveled all night, but was delayed by the city gates and only entered Chang'an the next morning.

Upon arriving in Chang'an, he found that Tian Boguang had already left and had not caused any other trouble. Yue Fangxing carefully questioned the wealthy households that had been robbed and learned that their losses were not severe. However, the large characters left on the walls were quite strange, and combined with Tian Boguang's notorious reputation, the incident had caused a significant stir.

The wealthy households were very pleased to see Yue Fangxing and expressed their desire to keep him in Chang'an for a few days to entertain him and guard against Tian Boguang's return. Yue Fangxing declined their invitations, saying he needed to chase after Tian Boguang and return to Huashan as quickly as possible. The round trip took less than two days.

Yue Fangxing hurried back to Huashan. Before he even reached the mountain, he received news that Tian Boguang had committed two more crimes in Shaodong, and that Yue Buqun had already gone to Shaobei, where Tian Boguang had also committed two crimes.

With no choice, Yue Fangxing changed horses and set out again for Shaodong.

The location of Tian Boguang's crimes in Shaodong was over five hundred miles from Huashan. Despite riding at full speed, it took Yue Fangxing more than two days to arrive. Along the way, he deeply felt the disadvantage of not having a long-distance lightness skill. If he had the same lightness skill as Tian Boguang, he would not be so easily manipulated. Now, even with a fast horse, he could not match Tian Boguang's speed, as horses needed to rest.

Yue Fangxing consoled the wealthy households in Shaodong and then returned to Huashan, riding at full speed again.

As he neared Huashan, Yue Fangxing relaxed and hurried up the mountain. He was thinking about whether Linghuchong had learned the Nine Swords of Dugu as in the original story when he suddenly saw several people coming towards him.

Yue Fangxing carefully examined them and recognized one as Lu Bai, whom he had met at the Liu residence in Hengshan. The others were unfamiliar, and it seemed they were coming down from Huashan. He was startled: Why had the Songshan Sect come so early? Were those people from the Jian faction? According to the original story, they did not come to Huashan until later. If they had come so early and still retreated, had Linghuchong already been injured? Had Cheng Buyou been torn apart by the Six Freaks of Taishan?

In a hurry, Yue Fangxing did not greet them and rushed towards Huashan.

Lu Bai, Feng Boping, and the others had just descended Huashan and were on their way when they suddenly saw a horseman galloping towards them, kicking up a cloud of dust and covering them in dirt. They were angry and wanted to chase after him to teach him a lesson, but when they saw the horseman heading towards Huashan, they felt too ashamed to go back and had to give up.

Yue Fangxing reached the foot of the mountain, ignored the outer disciples who came to greet him, and left his horse, rushing up the mountain.

When he reached the top, he saw everyone but did not see Linghuchong. He urgently asked, "Where is Eldest Brother?"

Everyone was silent, and Lu Dayou choked up, saying, "Eldest Brother was severely injured by Cheng Buyou and was taken away by six strange people. We don't know how he is now."

Hearing this, Yue Fangxing was struck as if by lightning. He was stunned for a moment before regaining his senses: He had not expected Linghuchong to follow the same path as in the original story. Was it his destiny to learn the Absorbing Star Technique? He felt a bit lost.

Yue Buqun said, "Those six people were of unknown origin, acting crazily, but their martial arts were extraordinary, and their lightness skill was remarkable. Your mother and I could not stop them." He then recounted what had happened.

It turned out that after Yue Buqun returned from Shaobei, he quickly came back to the sect. Seeing that nothing had happened, he thought it was a false alarm. However, just as he was relaxing, he saw the Songshan Sect, along with the Taishan and Hengshan Sects, leading the remnants of the Jian faction up the mountain, carrying Zuo Lengchan's command flag and declaring that the Huashan Sect's leader should be Feng Boping, attempting to reignite the Qi and Jian dispute.

Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze were arguing with these people when Linghuchong, accompanied by six strange people, came down from the Repentance Cliff and got into a verbal altercation with Cheng Buyou. Without a sword, Linghuchong picked up a broom and used the techniques from the stone wall to break Cheng Buyou's sword technique.

Yue Buqun had confidence in Linghuchong's martial arts. Although he saw Linghuchong being overconfident, he did not stop him, thinking it would be good for his disciple to defeat the opponent and make the Jian faction retreat. Seeing Cheng Buyou's sword technique broken, he was even more pleased.

However, a sudden change occurred. After losing, Cheng Buyou, in a fit of anger, took advantage of the proximity to strike Linghuchong, severely injuring him. The six strange people, seeing this, grabbed Cheng Buyou's limbs and tore him apart. Then they took Linghuchong and hurried away.

By the time the others recovered, the six strange people and Linghuchong were already gone. The Songshan Sect and the remnants of the Jian faction, shocked by the incident, also hurriedly left.